Why More Women Are Choosing Solo Travel
Solo travel is often described as brave, independent and empowering and I agree that it is all of those things. But for me, it has always been something more.
It is the freedom of me.
Thirty years ago, life took an unexpected turn. My marriage had ended and, while it wasn’t the future I had imagined, one thing remained certain. I still wanted to see the world.
Most of my friends were in a different season of life. Careers were flourishing, children had arrived, weekends revolved around family commitments and finding someone who could simply disappear to Italy for a fortnight wasn’t easy.
So I went anyway and looking back now, I don’t remember feeling lonely. I remember feeling wonderfully alive.
I loved the anticipation of boarding a flight without knowing who might be sitting beside me. I loved arriving in a city where every narrow street promised another discovery. Some mornings began with a plan, but many ended somewhere completely different because an alleyway looked more interesting than the road I had intended to take.
One of those wanderings led me to a tiny trattoria on Vicolo del Divino Amore in Rome. My Italian was enthusiastic rather than accomplished, and the owner’s English wasn’t non-existent. We smiled, gestured, laughed and somehow understood each other perfectly. I still remember that dinner all these years later, not because it was extraordinary, but because it reminded me that connection doesn’t always need a shared language.
Solo travel has a wonderful way of opening you to the world. You’re more curious, more present and more willing to say yes. You notice the little things; a hidden courtyard, a recommendation from a shopkeeper that takes you somewhere you would never have found in a guidebook, or a conversation that changes the direction of your afternoon. You discover beautiful places, but you also discover something else. Yourself.
I’m pleased to report my Italian improved marginally. My shopping, however, became fluent remarkably quickly. Armani and I became rather well acquainted.
I can still remember walking back to my hotel carrying that beautiful shopping bag, feeling just a little taller. It wasn’t really about the jacket. It was about the freedom of making a decision that belonged entirely to me. If I wanted to spend an hour in a dress shop, I did. If lunch stretched into the afternoon because the wine was delicious and I was enjoying watching the world go by, nobody was waiting to hurry me along.
That, I realised, was the freedom of me. Not selfishness, nor independence for independence sake, but the quiet joy of following my own curiosity wherever it happened to lead.
Yet every evening I found myself wishing for one simple thing. Someone to ask, “So… what was your favourite part of today?” Not someone to spend every moment with, but someone to share the stories over a glass of wine: the hidden piazza, the tiny trattoria and the conversation that shouldn’t have worked but did. Those moments always seemed richer when they were relived with someone else.
Years passed before that feeling became Travelling Divas, but looking back I can see the philosophy was already taking shape. I wasn’t dreaming about group tours. I was imagining a way for women to experience the glorious freedom of solo travel while enjoying the comfort and companionship of a beautifully curated small group journey designed especially for women.
Our philosophy has never changed: Travel solo, but never alone. When I first wrote those words, I thought they described a style of travel but now I think they describe something much deeper.
The women who travel with us don’t all experience a destination in the same way, nor should they. Some choose to wander through galleries, others settle into a café with a book, and some will happily spend an hour discovering a beautiful boutique tucked away down a side street. Then, as the day draws to a close, we come together and stories are shared over dinner, glasses are raised to delicious discoveries and someone invariably says, “You should have seen the little place I found today.”
I still smile every time that happens because, thirty years later, I know exactly how it feels.
More women than ever are choosing to travel solo, whether completely independently or as part of a thoughtfully curated women’s tour. I understand why.
Even now, every time I board a plane, I wonder who I’ll meet, which conversation I’ll remember and where that interesting little alleyway might lead. Every now and then, I’ll walk past an Armani window in Italy and smile.
And it’s not because I need another jacket.
It reminds me of a younger version of me who discovered that some of life’s greatest adventures begin the moment you stop waiting for someone else’s diary to line up with your own.
Thinking about travelling solo?
Whether you’re considering your first independent journey or prefer the reassurance of a beautifully curated small group, travelling solo doesn’t have to mean travelling alone. Our journeys are thoughtfully designed for women who value independence, meaningful connection and the joy of discovering the world on their own terms.